A new assessment of higher education institutions, based on the strength of their research, positions Leeds as one of the top UK universities for research and impact power.
The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) sees Leeds ranked in 10th place for research power, a measure of the number of people producing the highest quality research.
The assessment identified that over 80% of research at Leeds has a top quality rating of either “world leading” or “internationally excellent”.
For the first time, research was also judged on its impact outside academia, such as its effects on the economy, public policy, civil society or culture. The results position the University in 9th place when it comes to the impact power of its research.
University of Leeds’ Vice-Chancellor Sir Alan Langlands, said: “Our place as one of the UK’s top ten universities for research and impact power reflects the quality and sheer scale of our research at Leeds.”
“I’d like to thank our academic and professional services staff for all their hard work over many years that has contributed to these results,” Sir Alan Langlands added.
“We have truly outstanding research that makes a real difference to society and the economy, and we can be proud of the depth and breadth of our academic achievements.”
The REF is a robust and internationally-recognised exercise to measure the quality of UK university research. The results are used to allocate around £2 billion of government funding for research each year.
Following results in the last independent assessment in 2008, the University received more than £41 million a year in quality-related research funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The next funding allocations are due to be announced in March 2015.
The University of Leeds submitted research spanning the arts and humanities, social sciences, business, physical, biological and environmental sciences, engineering, medicine and health.
Notable successes include: